I read every review on the star before i sailed. My expectations where low due to all the negative reviews.I have been on 10 cruises including the jewel med cruise last year.So i know the what ncl does best and what they need to improve on.My cruise 9/29/07 was the best one we have ever been on. The staff in every part of the ship was helpful and worked hard to make our cruise enjoyable. The food was better than any of the four other cruise lines we have sailed on. The exception was the market cafe, stay away from the buffet. Eat your breakfasts and lunches in the main dining room. In regard to the specialty restaurants we eat in cagneys and ginza and they where worth the extra charge. We also tried endless summer and the italian restaurant as a change from eating in the main dining room. The key to getting reservations is to call # 6767 from your stateroom the day before, when you wake up between 7am and 9am. Try any later and you can only get 5:30 or 8:30 if available at all. We ate at a different time each night depending on our plans for the next day.Free style dining is much better than having to choose between early or late seating when the ideal time for diner is 6:30 to 7:30pm. Also the blue lagoon is a great place for lunch and if your by the pool the grill makes great burgers and hot dogs. The deserts where excellent at meals but the chocoholics buffet was as tasteless as other reviewers have said, not worth staying up for unless your a chocolate junkie.

ENTERTAINMENT Ricky the cruise director was great. we saw all the shows the magic show with shawn was the best, The comic peter was also good they do a few shows during the cruise make sure you see them all.The musical shows where ok but not anything like a vegas show. The 2nd city shows where very funny but only if you like that form of comedy.The chinese acrobats where fantastic a must see, but you have to sit and watch the boring bad dance show between their acts.One girl juggles a kitchen table and four chairs in the air.Just kidding on the chairs, but what she did with that table was amazing. The daily activities where the usual bingo but ncl charges twice what the other cruise lines charge for a card, bring a good book or a gang of friends and relatives you will get bored with 3 sea days.TOURS we booked our own, rosie the pink lady in acapulco, puerta vallarta tours in PV and glass bottom boat ride at the pier in cabo. In Z we just walked around town which is right next to the pier.The ships tours are so over priced and mexico tourist cities cater to all tourist they take our money they usually can speak english and they need us to sustain their economy so they make sure we are all safe. So don't let the ship tour directors scare you.Their are thousands of independent travelers in mexico every day. Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to get back to the ship.

WHAT NCL DOES WRONG cabins are small 141SQ FT inside cabin 166 for outside other lines 185 outside, but ncl bathrooms are the best layout of any cruise line.NCL has some of the lowest fares around a good value, so they have to make it up by charging more for goods and services when your on board.EXAMPLES over priced drinks $72 for a soda card,9 and 10 dollars for a drink. If your a drinker you must pay the price.But you can bring on board all the soda and bottled water you need. They will not let you bring any alcohol or beer on board. You can also buy soda and water in the ports the ship stops at.TIPS some say charging $10 a day P.P will mean poor service. In my two sailing with ncl i have not found this to be true.NCL pro rates the tips based on performance and comments from passengers so speak up if your not happy. Also if you tell them why you don't want to tip your steward or servers they will deduct a portion off your bill. YES ncl will try to sell you something every waking moment of your cruise and the loudspeakers on the ship will tell you about everything you don't want to know or buy. SO CHILL OUT YOUR ON VACATION.Dont let one or two things that go wrong cause you to be negative about your whole cruise. Also greater expectations have ruined more cruises than you can imagine. Remember their are 2200 people they have to please every moment of your cruise